


Not Yet

by HomeForImaginaryFriends



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-19 22:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15520410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomeForImaginaryFriends/pseuds/HomeForImaginaryFriends
Summary: Kuroo is both physically and mentally exhausted when he arrives at the airport and finds the last person he expected picking him up.





	Not Yet

Kuroo was exhausted.  That bone deep exhaustion that seems to seep into every bone and muscle, making Kuroo feel lethargic even after getting a good night's sleep.  Not that he gets a good night's sleep very often, he hadn’t thought he had gotten too used to the warmth of someone beside him, the vast majority of his life he has slept alone but he found whatever bed he was in was too big, cold, and hard without someone next to him.

 

Kuroo had tried having other partners.  He tried one night stands, friends with benefits, even a relationship that didn’t last very long because the other person could tell his heart just wasn’t in it.  Kuroo had felt even worse after every experience so he continued to stay single and in the earning morning when he wasn’t quite awake yet, he found himself reaching over for someone that was never there.

 

There wasn’t any regret for taking the opportunity put in front of Kuroo.  He was playing volleyball on a national team, had been for the past two years and yes, the nights were long and he felt something burrowing deeper inside his chest with every day he spent away from Japan and travelling abroad, but he knew his career wouldn’t last forever.  Even now he could feel the growing weakness in his knees, the way his joints popped, and how sometimes his left shoulder stopped doing what shoulders are supposed to do. He was grateful for the opportunity to continue doing what he had loved for a good majority of his life, but he knew it was coming to a close.  Had known he probably wouldn’t make it to thirty in this career so he had to take it while it was presented in front of him.

 

No regret there but there was something darker there, hidden beneath his ribs and spreading its icy touch throughout his whole body.  It had been a mutual decision, the split. Even when Kuroo was in Japan, it was a short visit usually filled with press conferences, interviews, and doctor visits.  Daily training meant he woke up early and got home late, falling into bed before he could even think about calling anyone. It had been hard, part of Kuroo had wanted to try and hold on as long as he could but he knew that wasn’t fair to the other person.

 

“ _ Excuse me _ ,” A young woman said in English before fumbling with a few Japanese words when Kuroo turned around.  She pointed to the overhead bin and despite Kuroo’s exhaustion he fought a smile because she was so tiny and the press of people wasn’t allowing her the room to reach up and grab her bag.  Kuroo reached for it, bringing it down carefully so he didn’t hit anyone else and she thanked him profusely in English and broken Japanese.

 

“ _ He’s so tall.” _  The girls travelling companion whispered to her in English.

 

“ _ I almost had a heart attack, he’s famous, he played in the olympics and everything.”   _ Kuroo ducked his head and tried to pretend he couldn’t understand them.  His English had been passable before he joined the national team but within the past couple years he had gotten a lot better.

 

Kuroo adjusted his mask over the bottom portion of his face as the crowd slowly trickled off the plane.  Mostly he wanted to get away from the airport as soon as possible, he had seen too many of them over the years and had grown far too comfortable finding ways to sleep in the hard plastic seats as they waited for their planes to arrive.  He was looking forward to an actual, real home cooked meal from his mother where he didn’t have to worry about low carb, high protein diets and how rice is an empty carb.

 

Kuroo just had his carry on so he didn’t have to worry about picking up his luggage and so made a beeline out of the gate.  He almost passed right by  _ him _ but the sign he was holding caught Kuroo’s attention, making him come up short as his own name was sprawled across the poster.  It was atrocious writing with drawings around it that he was sure was supposed to represent something but looked like a rorschach test.

 

“The next thing out of your mouth better be complementary because my kids made this.”  Kuroo’s eyes snapped up to meet warm brown ones, he was fighting hard against a grin and losing the battle.  Kuroo felt at a loss as he glanced down at the poster then up at the last person he thought he’d see today, then back at the poster before something clicked.

 

“You’ve become so lazy you are making your six year olds do your work for you?”  Kuroo asked, reaching up to tug his mask down beneath his chin so he could properly smirk over at Sawamura.

 

“I could leave you here.”  Sawamura deadpanned, turning to do just that but Kuroo reached out while laughing.

 

“Why are you even here?  And with a sign.” Kuroo looked down at the sign again, they had written the kanji wrong for his name then tried to re-do it.  The thought of Sawamura walking around table where his kids, the six year olds he taught, were huddled up with paint covering fingers and clothes, made Kuroo’s heart expand in his chest.

 

“Your mom called me, she had to take a last minute business meeting and didn’t want you alone.”  Sawamura’s grin stretched wide, his dimples poking out in a way that had made Kuroo first fall for him.  “My kids think you’re cool, I tried to dissuade them of that illusion but they are particularly stubborn.”

 

“Most people think I’m cool, you’re the outlier.”  Kuroo teased as they shuffled off to the side more so they were out peoples way.  A large pillar kept them mostly hidden.

 

“Yes, I saw the pocari ad, though why they felt you had to be shirtless.”  Sawamura gave a shrug and Kuroo grinned despite the fact that he could feel his face heating up at the mention of the photoshoot he had done.

 

“I worked hard for what I have.”  Kuroo said, it was a sad excuse and they both knew it.

 

“I know, come on let's get going.”  Sawamura said goodnaturedly but Kuroo stopped him.

 

“Hey Daichi, can I have a hug?”  Kuroo was too tired to feel embarrassed about the blunt question, or at least he was too tired to feel completely embarrassed about it.  Just seeing Sawamura alone had brought Kuroo’s spirits back up but he was feeling a bit touch starved and despite their break up and the months afterwards with no contact as they both tried to figure out who they were, Sawamura had always been there for Kuroo.  It had been Sawamura Kuroo’s mother had called after all.

 

“Sure.”  Sawamura leant the poster against his leg and opened his arms without hesitation.  Kuroo dropped his bag and shuffled closer to Sawamura, leaning down to wrap his arms around Sawamura’s back so Sawamura could wrap his arms around Kuroo’s shoulders.  Kuroo let out a sigh as he buried his cold nose against the warm skin of Sawamura’s neck.

 

Something  _ eased _ inside of Kuroo, icy fingers loosening their hold on him and retreating back as he curled his hand into the fabric of Sawamura’s sweater.  It was a thick knitted one with a button up underneath that made Sawamura look like he was forty instead of 27 but it was soft against Kuroo’s cheek and it felt like home.  Like long nights spent bent over a desk with a fresh mug of coffee placed at his elbow and a soft kiss to his temple, reminding him to  _ breath _ even when classes felt like they were suffocating him.

 

“Not yet,” Kuroo said when he felt Sawamura start to pull away, he closed his eyes shut and held on a little tighter.  “Please.” He knew Sawamura well enough to know that if the other man was truly uncomfortable he would pull back no matter what, and Kuroo would let it happen.  But Sawamura just curled his hand into the short hairs on the nap of Kuroo’s neck instead. During the season the team had a habit of not cutting their hair as a sort of luck-type ritual.  Afterwards Kuroo usually had it chopped all off in annoyance at the too-long strands, but this time he had let the hairdresser talk him into undercut.

 

“How about we get out of here, grab some take out, and continue this at my place?”  Sawamura asked and Kuroo opened his eyes to look around. They were mostly hidden by a pillar but they were still in a public setting and they had been embracing for the better part of five minutes.  Kuroo didn’t care about any of that but the sound of getting food and going back to Sawamura’s apartment sounded like the best thing.

 

“So how often do you talk to my mother?”  Kuroo asked, only letting out a small protest when Sawamura picked up not only his poster, but Kuroo’s bag too.

 

“We meet up for lunch every Sunday.”  Sawamura answered, which made Kuroo laugh until he realized Sawamura wasn’t smiling.

 

“Wait, are you serious?”  Kuroo asked, jogging to catch up with Sawamura.

 

“Apparently many of the new girls at her work are trying to befriend her just to get close to you.”  Sawamura said with a shake of his head. “I should tell them about the time you tried to serenade me on valentines day.”

 

“That was romantic.”  Kuroo reminded him, feeling lighter than he had in weeks, perhaps months.  He made a mental bet with himself that his mom most likely didn’t even have a business meeting, she was such a meddler sometimes.

 

“You ended up in jail.”  Sawamura stated flatly.

 

“I meant the part before that was romantic.”  Sawamura snorted but the faint red on his cheeks betrayed his real thoughts and had Kuroo smiling as he followed Sawamaura out of the airport.

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I write too much angst and have to write pure fluff to make myself feel better.


End file.
